Lucra Partners with Block Golf to Bring Real-Money Tournaments to Autonomous Golf Simulation

Lucra, the leading social competition platform, today announced a partnership with Block Golf, the autonomous indoor golf concept from the team behind PingPod and PodPlay, to embed Lucra's competition infrastructure natively across Block Golf's Trackman-powered simulator bays. Launching alongside Block Golf's first location in Williamsburg later this summer, the integration brings a full competition and loyalty layer to autonomous golf simulation from day one.

Block Golf was built around the autonomous model pioneered by PingPod: no staff required, no food-and-beverage overhead, just high-quality technology and a frictionless experience that keeps players coming back. Where the traditional golf simulator venue leans on hospitality to drive repeat visits, Block Golf leans on the game itself. With Lucra embedded at launch, competitive gameplay becomes the engine that turns individual sessions into an ongoing social experience. Every bay is connected, every round can carry stakes, and every player has a reason to return.

The Lucra integration enables guests to enter real-money matchups and free-to-play tournaments directly from their phones, challenge other players across bays or locations, and track standings on live leaderboards throughout their session. A centralized gaming wallet lets winners roll earnings into future play, keeping the competitive loop closed and players inside the platform. Lucra handles all payments, compliance, fraud prevention, and settlement automatically, allowing Block Golf to focus entirely on experience and expansion.

"Simulator golf has always had the bones of a great competitive experience — precision data, consistent conditions, and players who genuinely want to improve and have fun," said Dylan Robbins, founder and CEO of Lucra. "What's been missing is the layer that makes every session matter beyond the round itself. Block Golf is building the right model for where this category is going, and by embedding Lucra from the start, they're ensuring that competition and community are core to the experience."

Block Golf's first location in Williamsburg is set to open in late summer 2026, with additional locations to follow as the company scales its autonomous sports portfolio.

"We built PingPod around the idea that sports should be accessible, autonomous, and social. Block Golf carries that same DNA into golf," said David Silberman, Co-CEO of Block Golf. "Lucra gives us the competitive infrastructure to back it up. When every bay can host a real tournament, when players can challenge each other and win something, you've changed what it means to go hit balls. Lucra makes this experience possible from day one."

For Lucra, the partnership represents continued expansion across the indoor golf simulation category, demonstrating how its competition infrastructure can power engaging, community-driven experiences even within a fully autonomous operating model.

About Lucra

Lucra is a plug-and-play SDK that integrates into apps or websites, enabling peer-to-peer competitions with real-money or rewards. It handles compliance, payments, fraud prevention, and settlement out of the box, so partners can instantly offer gamified experiences without building or managing complex infrastructure themselves. Top entertainment, hospitality, and consumer brands, including Five Iron Golf, Puttshack, Backyard Sports, ChessKings, TouchTunes, and more, use Lucra's white-label technology to power tournaments and challenges, build loyalty, and drive new revenue. Learn more at playlucra.com. 

About Block Golf

Block Golf is an autonomous indoor golf concept from the team behind PingPod and PodPlay, combining Trackman simulator technology with a streamlined, staff-free operating model designed for accessibility, flexibility, and repeat engagement. Built around play, practice, competition, and community, Block Golf is part of a broader portfolio of tech-enabled sports and recreation brands expanding across New York and beyond. Contact Co-CEO David Silberman at david@pingpod.com to learn more.

Media Contact

Lindsay Linhart
Brand Strategist, Lucra
lindsay@playlucra.com